Reconciliation
by Smiley612
Summary: She felt her heart beating inside her chest and knew how anxious she was, but Nina also knew this was the right thing to do. / Nina and Joy talk at their birthday party. One shot.


**July 7, 2012**

Although the school year had come to a close the month previous, Amber had begged Nina not to fly back to America for the summer until she could throw a party for both her and Joy's seventeenth birthday. Nina reluctantly agreed, not wanting to deal with the whining that would inevitably ensue if Nina declined Amber's request.

For the past three weeks or so, Nina had stayed in Amber's guest room at her house on the outskirts of London while she planned a double birthday party.

Fabian lived in Liverpool, so Nina wasn't able to see him, despite she still being on the same continent. However, she and him kept in touch over the two weeks Nina resided in the guest room of the Millington household; they'd send each other good morning texts once they woke up, they'd check up on one another at lunchtime to see how their day was going, and once the sun set and Amber and Nina said goodnight, Fabian would call and the two would talk about God knows what until one of them fell asleep.

Of course, Nina had kept in touch with the other Anubis residents as well. Her relationship with Patricia was better than it had ever been, so the two of them would often instant message. Since Alfie and Amber were now in a serious, committed relationship, Alfie would occasionally come over Amber's house.

Whenever Alfie would come over, though, there would always be the ten minutes when Amber would drag Alfie into the bathroom and lock the door, forbidding Nina from entering.

Nina wasn't an idiot. She knew the two were discussing her and Joy's upcoming birthday party, but since Amber's dad had soundproofed the bathroom, Nina couldn't eavesdrop on the plans Amber was coming up with. It was a long, tedious three weeks.

Eventually the seventh of July came around.

Amber locked Nina in the guest room for hours once five o'clock came around as she and her parents prepared the house for the birthday party and the 10+ guests that would be attending. While she waited, Nina tried on a few of the dresses that Amber had recommended Nina wear, but the one she felt the most comfortable in was a simple yellow, floral sun dress. She knew Amber had a great sense of style and wanted Nina to look gorgeous, but Nina couldn't imagine herself wearing anything else.

Amber finally unlocked the guest room at eight o'clock, and the first thing that Nina saw outside her door was Fabian, holding a beautiful, colorful bouquet of flowers in his hands, his smile reaching the tips of his ears. Nina jumped into his arms, making the bouquet fall to the ground, but all Nina focused on was Fabian's familiar scent and his strong arms as they wrapped around her, holding her tight.

"Happy birthday, Nina," Fabian whispered into her ear. Nina couldn't hold back her laugh. She had never been so happy to be in his arms.

Amber had really gone all-out planning her and Joy's seventeenth. There was enough food to feed a clan of bears...but then again, with Mick attending the party, you had to buy bags of chips specifically for him to eat. There were streamers hung along every wall, balloons tied to tables and chairs, and music blasting from the speakers. Right now, one of Nina's favorite songs, Good Life by OneRepublic was playing.

For the next hour or so, Nina's friends came up to her to hug her, wish her a happy birthday, and compliment her on the dress she was wearing.

Nina and Patricia spent a while sitting next to each other in Amber's common room, chatting about whatever or whoever. Eddie gave her a long, tight hug. Jerome and Alfie, both very strong young men, gave her seventeen birthday punches each; Nina could already feel the bruises forming on her arms.

Others, such as Mick or Mara, spent a minute or two exchanging pleasantries and wishing her a happy birthday, but there was one person that never approached her...

Joy.

So when Amber exclaimed that Nina and Joy would open their birthday presents in half an hour, Nina snuck back upstairs and into the guest room. She removed the carefully wrapped present from under the pile of coats and jeans inside the closet. She felt her heart beating inside her chest and knew how anxious she was, but Nina also knew that this was the right thing to do.

Holding the present behind her back, Nina carefully stepped down the carpeted stairs. She caught Fabian's eye from where he stood in the common room, and he flashed her and unsuspecting grin. She returned the smile the best she could, ignoring her pounding heart.

Nina found Joy standing alone in the corner of the dining room, holding a cup of soda.

Her one-inch heels clicked along the tile floor as Nina approched Joy, trying to put her anxiety over the situation into a sealed box, far away from where she was. When Nina was a mere six steps away, Joy noticed her approaching, and straightened up against the wall.

"Hey," Nina whispered nervously, trying to hold the present steady behind her back with sweaty palms.

"Hi...?" Joy returned, eyebrows raised. Nina swallowed down the unease creeping up her throat, and revealed what she was hiding behind her back to Joy.

She eyed the scrupulous wrapping along the rectangular present, almost as if she was scanning the paper to see what was under it. Joy's brown eyes arched up to meet Nina's green ones, and the next five seconds were the longest of her life. Joy's eyes were untrusting and skeptical.

Nina cleared her throat. "Happy birthday, Joy," she said softly, inching the wrapped present closer to Joy. "I got this for you."

At this, something softened in Joy's expression. She opened her mouth, as if she wanted to say something, but closed it a moment after. Nina carefully placed the present into Joy's open palms. Without saying the words, Joy seemed to understand what Nina was insinuating. Cautiously, as to not attract a crowd, Joy peeled the wrapping paper off the present, crumpling it into a ball and handing the garbage back to Nina. Once she saw what her present was, the ends of her lips curled into a smile.

"Oh, my gosh," Joy whispered, in awe of her birthday gift. She held it close to her chest. "Nina, I...how did you know that I wanted this?"

Nina scratched the back of her head. "Well...I kind of asked Patricia."

Joy's smile remained on her face for another few seconds, staring giddily at her present, but soon after her grin faded and Nina could clearly see the worry and stress on Joy's face.

"What's wrong?" Nina asked, taking a step closer to Joy. "Are you angry that I asked Patricia?"

Joy met Nina's eyes again. "No, of course not!" she exclaimed. "I'm just — well — you got me this amazing gift, and I...I didn't get _you_ anything."

"Oh," Nina breathed, thinking her response over carefully. "Don't worry about it, Joy."

"But it's not just _my_ birthday—"

"No, it's really okay," Nina promised, a small smile on her face, "I swear. I wasn't expecting anything from you. I got you the present because I wanted to, because I was thinking of you."

Joy sighed, shaking her head. "I'm so sorry."

"I've already told you, it's okay. I'm not angry at all."

"It's not about that," Joy said sadly, now too ashamed to look Nina in the eye again. "It's about last year. It's about how I acted."

Both girls were silent for about ten seconds, both staring at the tiled floor. It was Joy who spoke up first, continuing her statement. "When I came back, I expected everything to go back to normal. Patricia and I would share a room again. Amber and Mara would have their monthly tiff over something stupid. Fabian and I...we would go back to whatever we were. I don't think it's any secret at this point that I had feelings for him, right?"

Nina exhaled a breathy laugh. "No, I don't think it is."

"Right," Joy forced a smile. "Well, for the longest time, before the teachers took me away from the school, both Patricia and I were convinced that he liked me too. So, when I came back, I...I didn't think anything had changed. Patricia had even told me that he and the new girl had 'a thing' going on, but I was too blinded by the hope that I'd get to go out with the guy I'd been crushing on for years."

"I understand," Nina said as he shook her head. "It's hard to let go of the past."

Joy closed her eyes. "I was unbelievably immature. I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry too, Joy," Nina spoke quietly, playing with her hands. "I was immature as well. Having Amber as a best friend, well...she kind of blew things out of proportion and I was convinced that you were trying to steal my friends, basically. I'm not exactly a saint in this situation. I never thought about how isolated you must have felt."

"I guess we're both at fault, then," Joy said, taking a step to be beside Nina instead of in front of her.

"I guess so."

Nina took a deep breath, trying to calm the rising anxiety. She turned to look at Joy beside her, and said, "Can we put the past behind us? I don't want to come back next year and glare at you once I walk in the door. I want us to get along. I want us to be friends."

"Me too," Joy admitted. "Also, happy birthday, Nina."

Nina smiled a large, genuine smile. "Friends?" she inquired, a hopeful glint in her eye.

Joy's grin was even bigger than Nina's. "Friends."

* * *

 **So this is probably the first piece of writing that I've finished since late January, and I'm actually pretty pleased with it, ngl. How are you all doing, guys? How's your summer been so far?**

 **Happy 20th birthday to my two lovely girls, I love you both :))**


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